The Height Of Arrogance

Anger's growing in three South American countries, who've been told by football's governing body they can't play competitive football matches in their capital cities anymore, because they're at altitude. La Paz in Bolivia, Bogota in Colombia and Quito in Ecuador are all higher than the new limit of 8,200 feet above sea level set by FIFA.

Ostensibly the restriction is because players suffer too much physically when they play at such heights, and also because it gives those nations an advantage when playing at home, because their players are used to the conditions. That second part may be slightly true - it was Bolivia who ended Brazil's record of never having lost a World Cup qualifier with a memorable victory in La Paz in 1993 - but it's not as if those three nations are exactly consistent world beaters. The first argument doesn't really stand up either. If professional athletes suffer so much from playing at altitude, it's bizarre not to ban matches in the searing heat of sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East.

It seems the big names of South American football, particularly Brazil and Argentina, have put pressure on FIFA to come to this decision. Presumably they don't want their players affected by having to play internationals and big club matches at altitude. This is an absurdly arrogant view, and it's equally absurd that FIFA have gone along with it, no matter how important those two countries are to the world of football. If there's any sense, the decision will be reversed, and lung-bursting games in La Paz will continue.